The National Academy of Social Insurance recently examined Census Bureau data and found that social insurance programs have a made a significant dent on the number of people living in poverty in the U.S. More than 45 million people (14.5% of the population) lived in poverty in 2013, but those numbers would be significantly larger if it weren't for programs such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and Supplemental Security Income.

A new report from the National Academy of Social Insurance, Americans Make Hard Choices on Social Security, takes a comprehensive look at public attitudes about the nation's retirement security program and finds broad support both for the program and for commonsense solutions to strengthen and expand the program in future years.

It's an election year and we are quickly approaching the time when working families will have the opportunity to go to the polls and vote against a whole host of extreme candidates who support policies that limit rights, make it even harder to afford a middle-class life and pad the pockets of their corporate buddies. One of the "Worst Candidates for Working Families in the 2014 Elections" is Dan Sullivan, who is running for U.S. Senate in Alaska.

We are so excited to be back in our nation's capital and continuing in our fight to stand up for working families across the country. Our pocketbooks may not be stuffed with billions of dollars, but we're determined to make our voices heard. From protecting Social Security and Medicare to ensuring equal pay for women, we're bringing the issues that most Americans care about to the center of the debate.

Many say we’re facing a retirement crisis, with much of the academic research on retirement income adequacy finding a large minority, and possibly even a majority, of households with insufficient money set aside for retirement. And then there are those who have an ideological (or sometimes financial) interest in painting a rosy picture and minimizing any retirement difficulties to a small group of less fortunate people.

Most all of us know someone—or may even be someone—who worries about having enough economic strength through savings, pensions, Social Security, health insurance and other resources to retire. When the paychecks stop coming in we don’t want to rely on help from our families, drastic cuts in spending or be forced back to work.

The annual reports from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released today “have good news for all Americans,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Social Security and Medicare will be there for us and our families if elected leaders listen to the American people and reject calls to cut benefits. Instead of undermining these crucial programs, we must build on their success and adopt measures to strengthen and expand them.

Earlier today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) spoke at a Center for American Progress event about Republican attempts to use Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as a way to cut and undercut the whole Social Security system. Rather than sticking with the conventional wisdom that Republicans, the media and even some Democrats cling to, Brown argues that what we should be doing now is not just protecting Social Security and SSDI, we should be expanding the programs.

There's been lots of debate and discussion lately about how to shore up Social Security for future generations. But already there are dramatic changes underway that threaten to end Social Security as we know it—yet almost no one has even heard of it.

The plan is called Vision 2025, and every working American has a stake in it.